Travis Wood

Big. Strong. Fast. Those are the three words Hereford coach Brian King used to describe his All-Metro first-team standout. Adams, who finished with 25 goals and 37 assists last season, sets the tone with hard work in practice and precise play in games. His team-first approach makes teammates around him that much more effective.

Teddy Chase

Winters Mill, midfielder, senior

A four-year starter and two-year captain, the long-pole midfielder is a disruptive force that opposing attacks try to avoid. It's easier said than done. Last season, he wreaked havoc all over the...

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Jack Adams
Hereford, midfielder, senior
Big. Strong. Fast. Those are the three words Hereford coach Brian King used to describe his All-Metro first-team standout. Adams, who finished with 25 goals and 37 assists last season, sets the tone with hard...

Matt Strahm is 6-foot-3 and about as thick as a flagpole.
His arm works like a slingshot and his left leg whips around at the end of his delivery. His fastball gets up in the zone quick, and his slider darts like it has been yanked by a magnet.
Padres...

The Tribune’s Mark Gonzales answers questions about when the Cubs will make a move for a top free agent starter, the lack of veteran leadership and how much the Cardinals have closed the gap on the Cubs.
Do you think the Cubs might be interested in...

The end of the World Series signals the start of the next baseball season. Here’s what you should know about the Padres as hot stove season nears:
A MATTER OF RECORD
2017 finish: 71-91, fourth in NL WestAt home: 43-38On the road: 28-532018 draft...

Major league baseball in September can be difficult to watch. Rosters bloat and games consistently drag past the three-hour mark. The culprit, more often than not: a gratuitous amount of pitching changes.
Tuesday at Target Field, the home fans...

There are no superlatives left for the home runs Giancarlo Stanton has been piling up with regularity.
He hits them harder and farther every day.
Friday he connected twice for the ninth time this season, including his hardest-hit homer of 2017, in...

After scrambling back into contention in the AL Central, the Kansas City Royals are gearing up to make another bid for a postseason spot.
The Royals acquired three pitchers from the San Diego Padres on Monday, getting starter Trevor Cahill, closer...

Hoping to bolster their rotation for a playoff run, the Minnesota Twins on Monday acquired left-hander Jaime Garcia, along with catcher Anthony Recker and cash considerations, from the Atlanta Braves for minor league right-hander Huascar Ynoa.
The...

Of course Todd Kipnis remembers the pitch. Vividly. How could he not?
World Series Game 7. Tie game. Bottom of the ninth. And there was his little brother, Jason, in the Progressive Field batter's box.
He can still feel it now — the swing, the...

Travis Wood wanted to start, and the Kansas City Royals had a need.
The 30-year-old left-hander and the Royals finalized a $12 million, two-year contract Wednesday. Coming off a World Series title with the Chicago Cubs, Wood hopes to earn a starting slot...

Joe Maddon will be going for his fourth Manager of the Year award in 11 years, and his second straight with the Cubs, when the National League honor is announced Tuesday.
Maddon led the Cubs to a major-league-best 103 regular-season victories. He's up...

Under a clear sky in comfortable November weather, the Cubs celebrated their first World Series title since 1908 with an estimated 5 million of their closest friends lining the parade route and gathering at Grant Park.
Before the Cubs arrived, a fan...

Anthony Rizzo is having the time of his life after learning firsthand what it's like to go from the bottom to the top.
Rizzo and Travis Wood are the two survivors from the start of the Cubs rebuild in 2011, and playing in the World Series after what...

In October 2011, the Cubs agreed to a five-year contract with Theo Epstein, naming him the president of baseball operations. Epstein assembled a team, including GM Jed Hoyer, and went through the process of rebuilding Cubs baseball from the bottom up.
...

Who has the edge?
Starting pitching
Aside from Game 1 starter Jon Lester, don't expect any Cubs pitchers to pitch deep unless they're throwing a shutout. Kyle Hendricks' off-speed pitches should work effectively against the Dodgers lineup. The Cubs...

Travis Wood took over when starter Kyle Hendricks got hurt and became the first relief pitcher since 1924 to hit a postseason home run, helping the Chicago Cubs beat the San Francisco Giants 5-2 Saturday night for 2-0 NL Division Series lead.
Ben...

Travis Wood didn't quite run through a brick wall for his team.
But he ran into one on July 31.
That's when Wood showed poise in ivy after Cubs manager Joe Maddon ordered the left-handed reliever from the pitcher's mound to left field to start the...

Joe Maddon was seen getting a hot dog in the Cubs dugout before Saturday's game from a vendor with the unusual name of Donny Franks.
But it turned out the vendor was actually "Late Show" host Stephen Colbert, a Northwestern and Second City alum who was...

The Cubs were closing out a 101-loss season fours years ago when general manager Jed Hoyer was asked about his plans for October.
"October, when you're not in the playoffs, it's a really good planning time," Hoyer said. "You have a lot of time to think...